CT Diagnosis of Retroperitoneal Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Objective To investigate the CT findings of retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcomas and its diagnostic value. Materials and Methods Thirty-six cases with pathologically proved retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcomas were selected.The lesion size,morphology,margin,density,relationship of the tumor to adjacent structures and enhancement characteristics on CT were retrospectively analyzed. Results Correct localization was made in 31 cases by CT(86%).The average size of the tumors was 6.3 cm×9.7 cm×11.2 cm.The other CT findings included:irregular shape or lobulated contour in 32 cases,inhomogenous density with necrosis,hemorrhage or calcification in 29 cases,surrounding tissues compression was seen in all cases,adherence in 28 cases and adjacent structures invasion in 17 cases. On enhanced CT,soft-tissue component was slightly enhanced in liposarcoma and moderately to highly enhanced in malignant fibrous histiocytoma,leiomyosarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. Conclusion CT can correctly localize retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcomas,depict the nature and extent of the tumors and exactly demonstrate the relationship of the tumor to adjacent structures.CT plays an important role in diagnosis and differential diagnosis of retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcomas.